occupywallstreet:

Evidently San Quentin guards are planning to retaliate to Occupy’s actions by keeping all inmates in solitary confinement for all of Monday. By the guards’ design, the inmates are reacting with resentment of occupiers. 

Unfortunately 4,000+ men will spend 24 hours within the confines of an 8 X 4 foot cell without sunshine, exercise, classes, or work - in “lock down” all day on monday because of “occupiers” who never asked prisoners for their opinion and decided to Occupy San Quentin for the great publicity on Presidents Day. The resentment of the prisoners towards the occupiers is strong!

This enrages me so much. That they would use this tactic, and that it’s apparently working. They should resent the guards, for manipulating them and for punishing them so wantonly, but instead they resent people who are genuinely on their side. This is a tactic we should get used to seeing - a lot. It’s a classic: used when bosses manipulate other workers into resenting the strikers instead of their exploiters, used by dictatorships to turn the populace against rebels. 

When I got the ask in occupywallstreet telling me about this, I really did not know how to handle it. On one hand, it makes any action on the part of occupy potentially counterproductive or harmful, on the other hand I didn’t know just how consistent the supposed feelings of resentment were, and what I saw was a clear indication of just how bad our prisons are, and just how necessary action really is.

Also, I very strongly resent the notion that this Monday’s action was “for the great publicity.” For one thing, what some interpret as publicity, others most definitely interpret as bringing attention to an issue. That occupiers are doing this for personal gain is a notion I would find laughable if I didn’t find it so offensive.

And that’s just it. The fact that someone sees this action as being “for the great publicity” without considering that maybe the guards’ sadistic disregard for prisoners’ well-being is the exact kind of thing being protested, is indication of just how effective the divide and conquer manipulation has already been.

If news of this is to spread, and occupiers choose not to demonstrate, it needs to be abundantly clear why - that the prison is so backwards it would punish its inmates because a demonstration is being held. Then it’s the prison that’s the villain, and their strategy backfires.